Poor

Late May - July 2381 according to the Historian's note. Right after Unworthy. I forgot how that matches up with the Typhon Pact, but I'm pretty sure it's overlapped. And completely separate - one has nothing to do with the other. Read them in publication order if you like.

Children of the Storm falls entirely within the 7-month gap between Ch. 1-18 of Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire (Feb-Mar '81) and Ch. 19-end of same (Oct '81-Feb '82). The rest of Typhon Pact is set mostly in August to October '82, well after CotS. So strictly speaking, there's no overlap at all timewise, and none storywise either.

And isn't Miral aging a lot more slowly that past Klingon kids we've seen? She's three and she's acting like a three-year-old, if that. By the time Alexander was three, the actor playing him was more like eight or nine, I think. But then, Miral is only a quarter Klingon, isn't she?

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Yeah, she is 1/4 Klingon and I always figured having the kids play older on TV was more a casting thing than an iron-clad rule about how various species and hybrids age. Even if we accept that Klingon kids age faster, I think Miral is/should stick closer to a human child.

I have all three novels--bought Full Circle twice after I thought I lost my first copy--and look forward to getting more as they come out. As others have said, you've gotten the whole optimistic Trek ethos down, of exploring new civilizations and types of beings and remaining hopeful throughout.

Would it be entirely wrong to say that your novels' major theme (one major theme) is the ongoing recovery of everyone involved--Alpha Quadrant, Delta Quadrant--from the Borg? I like good recovery sagas.

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You may, and thanks for the compliments. I'm glad my vision appeals to you. As to the "recovery" theme...I don't know. It's not something I'm doing consciously. As a rule, I write from characters and less from a desire to explore larger themes overall. The nature and development of the Children in this story came from a particular real world idea I've been troubled by of late, but to go any bigger in terms of all three...I'll leave that to you guys and folks interested in more critical thinking about the stories. I honestly can't do both at the same time. If you're thinking like a literary analyst at the same time you're trying to create something, you end up censoring stuff. So I just kind of do what I do and leave it to others to analyze.

this book is just what i need and in the sample which is 4 chapters long kes was in it yes now im going get the tree version too.

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I'm glad what you read inspired you to pick up the dead tree version, but do be aware that though Kes is referenced in the story in terms of her impact and to note that she is still very much in the hearts and minds of the characters, she's not actually physically present in the novel. I'm worried something you read might have given you the wrong impression there, so...you know...fair warning.

I wonder if those Janeway fans who refuse to read anything set after Janeway's death have ever experienced a personal loss in their own lives. If they had, maybe they'd appreciate that it's possible to pay honor and tribute to someone even after they're gone, that they can still be a part of your life even if they aren't physically there. Maybe they'd understand that the grief and anger can't last forever, that loss is something that must eventually be accepted and coped with and integrated into your life as you move on. Janeway is a pervasive, influential presence throughout Unworthy and Children of the Storm. The books serve her character very well even though she isn't in them as a living person. I think these Janeway fans would appreciate the books if they allowed themselves to read them.

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Yes, I have. And while yours is an interesting pop psychology theory it has nothing to do with the desire to read stories containing the Janeway character. Nice try though.

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Kim, you are too kind here. "Interesting pop psychology theory"? This comment is much worse than that.

Actually, the poster has a pretty condescending attitude toward readers who miss Janeway. He wonders if we have ever experienced a personal loss in our lives. Really? Is he implying that we are too young, too inexperienced, or just too stupid to understand how people continue to influence others after their deaths?

He implies that we are unfamiliar with the stages of grief that Voyager’s crew has gone through. Does he think that we are too uneducated to be familiar with Kubler-Ross’s excellent work on the subject? Honestly, I much prefer to learn about it from her writing than some Trek novel, thank you very much.

He suggests that we should be satisfied with Janeway’s “influence” on her crew as an adequate substitute for her presence as a living, breathing character in the novel. That suggestion is beneath contempt.

Finally, he seems to think that the refusal to read these novels as some sort of judgment on the quality of the writing, which is hardly the case. I’ve enjoyed Beyer’s writing in the past, and I’m upset that once Voyager finally hires someone who understands the characters (and maybe even watched the series), she is handicapped because of a poor, even frivolous editorial decision to send Janeway off to the Q Continuum in a poorly-written TNG novel.

How refreshing it would be to have PB and their writers admit that the Janeway “death” in “Before Dishonor” was a big mistake instead of having to endure this woefully inadequate lecturing about life and death and the "meaning" of grief. How tiresome it is to get the PB party line over and over again, with a strong dose of condescension on the side. Instead of criticizing unhappy, loyal readers, instead of bemoaning their complaints, how about sympathizing with them for having been deprived of the chance to read novels that include Voyager’s most popular character, alive and well?

Anyway, enough of this Janeway nonsense. I demand to know when PB is bringing back Keiran Duffy!?! I refuse to buy any of the latest Corps of Engineers products until this occurs.

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LOL! I miss CoE.

I, for one, have enjoyed 7 of 9's story arc since Full Circle. Kirsten writes her (and the other tv characters) spot on. I loved The Doctor's scenes with Tom, B'Elanna, and Miral in this book and hope to see more of the same.

I also hope we see a story in the future featuring the USS Galen. I've always wanted a medical mini-series somewhat along the lines of CoE. Perhaps the opportunity for that is in the DQ.

I have to add Commander O'Donnell to my list of favorite new characters along with Afsarah Eden (can't wait to have her story unfold) and Hugh Cambridge (loved his appearance in the holodeck with Tom and Harry!)

Like Commander O'Donnell of the Demeter. He was a really cool character. The hallucinations were a bit much, but aside from that I really liked his gentle quirkiness, and the surprising effectiveness he revealed in spite of everyone's expectations.

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He reminded me a bit Dr. Rush from "Stargate: Universe".

The visions of his wife are probably what started me thinking that way, but there was also the fact that he had the best idea of what was going on and how to resolve the situation effectively, but his single-minded dedication to doing everything himself and his lack of communication with the crew made it look like he was a babe in the woods with no idea what he was doing. That's pretty much the same process that led to everyone in "Universe" thinking Rush was a shifty son-of-a-bitch.

All in all, I really enjoyed O'Donnell, and I hope we get to see more of him soon. On the one hand, I realize that might not be likely, since there are eight ships to cover and he's not in the one that's going to be in every book, but on the other hand, his actions in the book did create a loss in the fleet that can be resolved on-screen as well as off.

I thought the thread with Drafar was resolved a little abruptly, but I suppose it was more about showing B'Elanna's parenting than his cultural conditioning.

Parenthood was, unsurprisingly, a prominent theme throughout the whole book.

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I think Beyer captured the emotion of parenthood as only a parent can. She captured many of my emotions in those scenes. And as VOY was about family and Janeway was very maternal to her crew, this feeling is very much what makes VOY unique. Beyer has a solid grasp of this concept.

Just finished it. Excellent stuff as always, Kirsten! I didn't like it quite as much as Full Circle or Unworthy, but it was still very enjoyable. I think the difference is that there wasn't as much focus on the core Voyager people. After the nice development and deepening they received in the prior books that was a bit of a letdown. That's basically my only gripe though. The stuff with O'Donnell and Eden almost makes up for it.

Speaking of Eden, surely it's almost time to pull the trigger on that juicy story, right?

I thought this was a very worthy followup to Full Circle and Unworthy. It continued to do what the other two books did, which I never thought would be possible: it made me care about the characters. One thing I like more than anything else about good TrekLit (and lit in general) is good character pieces, along with the story itself. This book had that in spades, both with the characters from the show as well as new ones.

I enjoyed watching B'elanna's adjustment to her new role as fleet chief engineer and how she dealt with the engineer from the Achilles. I liked seeing the "final" resolution between Tom and Harry (although that point was pretty much dropped as the book progressed). I liked the interplay between Seven and Cambridge and Seven's "move" at the end. I thought Chakotay was used a little awkwardly in the story (I agree with previous sentiments: is he in charge on his ship or not?), but like how he continued to try to act as a sounding board for Eden as well as sticking to his convictions.

As for the new characters, I LOVED the story about O'Donnell and Fife. I loved how, at the beginning of the book, I kept thinking "What is up with O'Donnell? How could someone be so incompetent?" and by the end of the book my attitude had completely changed around. I liked how O'Donnell handled Fife at the end and very, very much look forward to seeing how the relationship between those two continues to develop.

The only reason why this book did not get an "Outstanding" from me is, really, not the fault of the book itself. Although I was very pleased with the resolution of the problem and the new relationship with the Children (a wholly original race that was fascinating), I just couldn't get it out of my head that the Children as presented here were just simply not the same race as was presented in Destiny. Granted, they only appeared VERY briefly in Destiny, but their appearance there was so incredibly menacing that I just have problems seeing these as the same thing. But, that might actually be a good thing. For one: it shows just how alien the Children really are. They can be beyond menacing and dangerous to being a joyful, innocent race in a moment's time. That's fascinating too. But, as I said, it's still tough for me to wrap my head around it, so I just couldn't give it an "Outstanding".

But, Kirsten deserves all the credit in the world for this excellent continuation of the Voyager saga. After how much I disliked the show, for this and the previous two books to make me enjoy these characters so much shows how much credit she deserves. Voyager is currently the best TrekLit going today. Please Pocket and Kirsten: More!

Although I was very pleased with the resolution of the problem and the new relationship with the Children (a wholly original race that was fascinating), I just couldn't get it out of my head that the Children as presented here were just simply not the same race as was presented in Destiny. Granted, they only appeared VERY briefly in Destiny, but their appearance there was so incredibly menacing that I just have problems seeing these as the same thing. But, that might actually be a good thing. For one: it shows just how alien the Children really are. They can be beyond menacing and dangerous to being a joyful, innocent race in a moment's time. That's fascinating too. But, as I said, it's still tough for me to wrap my head around it, so I just couldn't give it an "Outstanding".

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Is it really alien? We're a species that produced Hitler and Gandhi within a single generation. We created weapons that can destroy the entire world, yet we also created the Muppets and My Little Pony. So the same range from incredible menace to joyful innocence is part of us too.

That being said, it's still tough for me to see them as the same species. I think part of the problem as well is that the brief glimpse we got of them in Destiny put a pre-conceived notion in my head. That notion was "menacing bad guy", for better or for worse. That's they way I expected them to be portrayed here. I realize though that, had that actually been all there was to them, I would have been severely disappointed in this book. I'm glad Kirsten took them the direction she did. It showed a ton of originality. But, at the same time, it took me out of the story a little as I read it the first time.